On August 16, the third year of Chongzhen (1630), Yuan Chonghuan, an outstanding anti-Qing general and the Jiliao governor outside the Weizhen Pass, was imprisoned in the city and wronged in Jiuquan. At that time, the charges given to Yuan Chonghuan were not only "peace with the yin lord, collaborating with the enemy and coercing money", but also the so-called "killing the marshal". The commander is Mao Wenlong, the general soldier of the Dongjiang River stationed on Phi Island in the Ming Dynasty. On the issue of "fornication with the Houjin," because the Qing Dynasty's "History of the Ming Dynasty" made public the secret of the emperor's Taiji's establishment, the truth was finally revealed; however, the matter of "killing the marshal without permission" was still indistinguishable from wrong, and the rumors were untrue, and there were many people who appeared in important historical books during the Ming and Qing dynasties. In order to facilitate the analysis, you might as well quote the important ones below: "Chongzhen Record" contains: "Chonghuan from the capital to Ningyuan, the main section, after Ning Yuanjie, that is, the monk to the Qing army to condole, intending to negotiate peace, will not be settled." When he came out again, His Majesty saw that he had returned to Liao for five years, and he was afraid of the responsibility and wanted to restore the proposal, but the evil Wenlong disturbed it, so he decided to kill Wenlong. [1] "The End of the Ming History Chronicle" contains: "During the apocalypse, Chonghuan fuss Liaodong, and sends lamas and monks to Jianzhou to build the main money, and will return to the end." As for the re-release, there is no way to stop the life of Pingliao for five years, but to revert to the plan. Jianzhou said: "Guoer, it comes with the head of the text." Chonghuan believed it, and the dinosaur leaked his money", "he entered the island to trap him", "his crime is to kill the enemy without permission". [2] "Ming Ji Beiluo" contains: "First of all, the general Li Yongfang offered advice****** the lord said: When the army enters China, after the dinosaur is intercepted, it is necessary to pass the book Chonghuan, kill the Wenlong, and pretend to return Liao. The Qing Dynasty is the master of the Qing Dynasty. Chonghuan replied confidently, and returned home with illness, and went to bed. As for the re-appointment, if you want to kill Wenlong, then Liao can get it." "In the first year of Chongzhen, the five kings, six kings and Liu Aita of the Qing Dynasty led 20,000 troops from Zhenjiang to repay the battle of Yizhou. Wenlong was defeated with 8,000 men and ten generals under his subordinates, and Aita was defeated with 400 horsemen and surrendered to Wenlong. Because the Qing Dynasty is a secret book Chonghuan, make a pre-contract, Tuwenlong, Chonghuan Xinzhi".

"Chonghuan pinched the twelve sins and killed Wenlong in correction, which is the same as Qin Hui's killing of Wu Mu with twelve gold medals. [3] "Guoyi" contains: "Jianyu (Wenlong) strangles his back, and is very jealous, Yin Tongqian Chonghuan, seeking to kill Wenlong, and Chonghuan is not aware of his plan, which is a pity." "Yuan's cheap engagement, the world heard of it, surprised by the surprise, where the suburbs are so reckless. Yuan's body was punished by injustice, so he killed the island Shuaishi, so he committed suicide. If it is not the Duke of Zhou, he is arrogant and stingy, and he is tempted by the construction of the captive, and he can kill his taboo, and he can not be defeated!"[4] "History of the Ming Dynasty. Although the Biography of Yuan Chonghuan clarified Yuan's "fornication with Houjin and the threat of money from a strong enemy", it still called Mao Wenlong "wanton killing", and said: "However, the island lost its boss, and the heart gradually carried, and the benefits were unavailable, and then there were defectors." [5] In short, the books record that the word "Zhongkou" seems to be Yuan Chonghuan's punishment of Mao Wenlong, which is either a crime or a fault. Since the end of the Ming Dynasty, this traditional view has still had a considerable influence to this day, and some scholars have believed: "Mao Wenlong was a famous anti-Qing general," "Yuan Chonghuan's biggest mistake in his life was another anti-Qing army that was stationed on the Dongjiang River," "Yuan Chonghuan's killing of Mao Wenlong was extremely unpopular," so that "Houjin was completely relieved of his worries," and "Huang Taiji personally led the army commander into the pass more than four months after Mao Wenlong was killed, and safely moved to the vicinity of Beijing for half a year, which could not have happened before." [6] From this point of view, it is worth distinguishing whether Yuan Chonghuan's punishment of Mao Wenlong is a merit, a crime, or a fault. This article intends to make some analysis of this, and if it is wrong, please criticize and correct.

1. Regarding Yuan Chonghuan's proposal

Was Yuan Chonghuan's killing of Mao Wenlong in order to ask Hou Jin for money to "put on the life of Pingliao for five years"? Did Hou Jin ever put forward the condition of killing Mao Wenlong as a condition for making money? Is Yuan Chonghuan really afraid that Mao Wenlong would "leak his money" and must get rid of it as soon as possible? The factual answer is no.

The core of these problems is nothing more than the word "paragraph". It is true that Yuan Chonghuan did put forward some proposals for the proposal of the funds since he left the town, and he also carried out some activities to discuss the funds, but he himself never concealed this point, and claimed that the proposals were an integral part of his strategy of recovering Liao. For example, in July of the first year of Chongzhen, he was summoned to the platform and made a promise that "the whole Liao can be restored in five years", and at the same time, he told Emperor Chongzhen about this strategy in person: "The plan for recovery is not to use the Liao people to defend the Liao land in the past, and to raise the Liao people with the Liao land. The Fa is gradually disappearing, and the reality is not imaginary. [7] Therefore, the question is not whether Yuan Chonghuan has a proposal, but whether we have made a factual analysis of Yuan's proposal. There are a few points that should be pointed out here: First, Yuan Chonghuan's proposal is above board, he dares to speak to the emperor, dares to speak to the cardinals, dares to get the court and fight with the ministers, and even does not hesitate to be suppressed and dismissed for this. At that time, Mao Wenlong was just the chief soldier guarding the border island, and his power should be under Yuan Chonghuan, and there was no so-called "dinosaur leaking his money" problem.

Second, Yuan Chonghuan's proposal is by no means an unseemly conspiracy or debenture. Chonghuan has also received "arrogant and quick dispatch, tame and Xu Jian, tireless requests are not lightly permitted, and traces of preparation must be known." [8] and "the edict of the invasion of the land should be returned, and the traitor should be surrendered"[9] and other clear decrees, Yuan Chonghuan implemented them all in the discussion. These situations are reflected in historical books such as "Donghualu", at least so far, there are no other secret books and secret agreements between Yuan Chonghuan and Hou Jin, let alone killing Wenlong as a condition for speaking and returning Liao. If there is, it will be made public after the death of the Ming Dynasty, just like the disclosure of the secrets of the Emperor's Taiji and the subsequent disclosure of the "Mao Wenlong Book Jane". At the same time, Emperor Qianlong was certainly not ignorant of the history of his ancestors, and he was not so confused that he regarded the ministers of the "collaborator" as a pacesetter loyal to his duties, and issued an edict that "Yuan Chonghuan supervised Ji Liao, and he was still able to be loyal to what he did, but at that time, the lord was in a dark state and could not exhaust his enthusiasm, so that his body was rebuilt, and he was deeply compassionate"[10]. It can be seen from this that the so-called statement that the killing of Mao Wenlong was only based on the premise of Yuan Chonghuan's "fornication with the gold", which was the recourse and extension of this crime.

Third, Yuan Chonghuan's ritual is principled, that is, it is based on the overall situation of war and defense that is conducive to the Ming Dynasty, which is fundamentally different from the kind of surrender that humiliates the country, and the two should never be confused. For example, in August of the sixth year of the Apocalypse, Yuan Chonghuan took the opportunity of Nurhachi's death to send Lama Li and others to mourn and apply for a proposal. [11] According to the records of the Qing Dynasty, Jiang's Donghualu said that it was "because of peeping at my situation;[12] and Wei Yuan's Shengwu Ji said that it was "going to look at my hypocrisy,"[13] which shows that Yuan's envoys were subordinate to further consolidating the Ningjin military defense. In addition to mentioning that "Zhihanzhi gradually obeyed ****, and the soldiers were relieved", Yuan Shu also clearly put forward the request that "if it is repaired today, how can the city and the local area be withdrawn, and how can the officials and the people and men and women be returned"[14]; Huang Taiji accused Chonghuan in his reply that Chonghuan demanded the return of the land to the people, because he was "unwilling to make peace, and deliberately provoked my anger." [15] It can be seen that Yuan Chonghuan insisted on the principle of benefiting me from the beginning of the proposal, and did not make any unusual moves.

Fourth, Yuan Chonghuan's proposal is only an auxiliary means for him to realize his plan to defend the war. In his strategy of recovering Liao, the positions of war, defense, and peace are not equal, and the master-slave relationship between them is very clear. Therefore, the so-called Chonghuan "exclusive main section" is obviously unfounded. In fact, Yuan Chonghuan's strategy of recovering Liao was based on the actual situation, before that, the northeast of the Ming Dynasty suffered successive defeats, Liao and Shen fell, and more than 40 cities in Jinzhou and Xiaolinghe were all surrendered, as far as the situation outside the customs is concerned, it can be said that "the enemy is strong and I am weak", and the key to saving the crisis at that time was to "defend and then fight" and "promote war by defending". Yuan Chonghuan's outstanding feature lies in his ability to clearly recognize the grim situation, face reality, and strategically correctly handle the relationship between war, defense, and peace. In the second year of the Apocalypse, on the eve of his departure from the customs, he met with Xiong Tingbi who "listened to the survey in the capital". Tingbi was overjoyed. [16] Subsequently, he made a further elaboration in "Liao Shi Zhi The ministers only blindly defended, so that they could fight with me until they had nothing to gain, and they would be trapped by themselves, but what they were trapped was to gain and plan to do so", "The day is insufficient, the monthly is more than enough, the monthly is insufficient, and the year is more than enough." If the war is insufficient, there will be more rules, and if there is more than enough to seize the existing war, there will be no shortage in the war. There is no need to talk about recovery, and there is no need to rush to calm the enemy, and the enemy is not uneven, that is, the day of the attack is the day of the end. [17] The facts of Ning Jin's successive victories proved that Yuan Chonghuan's "defense and then war" was correct and successful. In this regard, Hou Jin also had to admit: "I raised troops in the Qing Dynasty, and everything I wanted was destroyed, and the generals dared to discuss the war and defend it, and the war and defense began with Chonghuan." [18] As for the addition of the negotiation in addition to the battle defense, in Chonghuan's words, it is "the enemy fools me with money, and I also fool me with money", "the money is slow, so I am anxious to slow the other and I am anxious"[19] Like the construction of the three cities of Jinzhou, Zhongzuo, and Daling, this is an example, "If the enemy knows, the three cities are over, and the battle defense is 400 miles away from the gate, and the golden soup is solid." [20] No wonder Huang Taiji replied to the rebuke: "If you say that you will repair it, you will send a whistle to enter my territory, accept the escapees, and repair the castle. [21] This kind of negotiation is beneficial to me, so why not do it, and why is it sinful?!

Fifth, Zhushi once accused Yuan Chonghuan of proposing "five years of Pingliao", which was nothing more than an uncertain promise of "talking about comfort", and finally had to kill Mao Wenlong for the sake of money. But judging from the above-mentioned situation, Yuan Chonghuan is well aware of the Liao affairs, and he went out of the customs twice before and after, and he worked hard according to the established strategy, even in the case of many constraints, he still achieved more and more significant results. Cheng Benzhi said well in "The Voice of the Vortex": "Chonghuan has been the one who has been recovering Liao for five years." The autumn of Wuchen, the winter of Jisi, only the period. ...... The resumption of Liao must be accompanied by soldiers and horses, how is the military industry of Liao like soldiers, and how is the horse industry of Liao like horses, that is, the enemy avoids Liao and tends to thistle, and reverts to avoid thistle and tends to Beijing. The enemy is afraid of Liao, and the soldiers and horses are also obvious. After five years of immersion, its soldiers and horses should be restored. ...... Chonghuan doesn't have to be urgent." Liang Qichao also commented: "So that the superintendent can carry out his will for a long time, and his achievements will stop here." [22] I think these analyses and comments are pertinent. The so-called claim that Yuan Chonghuan killed the marshal without permission for the sake of making money lacks factual basis, so it cannot withstand scrutiny.

2. On Mao Wenlong's "Anti-Qing Dynasty"

The reason why some scholars have a negative attitude towards Yuan Chonghuan's beheading is nothing more than saying that Mao Wenlong has a meritorious role in opening up the Dongjiang River and containing Houjin. The following is just a few of these two points.

In August of the first year of the Apocalypse, Mao Wenlong took advantage of the situation to attack the Dongjiang River, and this was a great controversy at that time. Liaofu Wang Huazhen and his own soldier Zhang Heming praised this as a miracle and publicized the great event, while Xiong Tingbi, the Liaodong Economic Strategy, believed: "The forces of the three parties have not been gathered, Wenlong has been sent too early, and the conspiracy of the three parties to advance in a chaotic manner has mistaken the plan of liaison with the subordinate countries,"[23] and the first assistant Ye Xianggao said: "Although the merit is difficult to say, what is the sin?" [24] In fact, Ye is the master of the Huazhen seat, and his words are clearly like a compromise, but in fact, the right is turned into chastity. Because at the beginning of Xiong Tingbi's reinstatement of Jingluo, he immediately implemented the "tripartite arrangement": Guangning used horse infantry to line up the river to drop out slave soldiers; Tianjin and Denglai each set up boat divisions to take advantage of the situation to enter the southern guard, so that the slave soldiers turned back; Jingluo Zhenshan Hai, controlled the three parties, and unified dispatch,[25] and then went to the top: "The tripartite construction must contact North Korea,...... Our soldiers and Li soldiers leaned on each other, and they communicated with Denglai from time to time, and they were helpful in aid. [26] These decisions were made to the Ming Dynasty and approved, and Ye, Zhang, Wang, and others were of course clear about this. For this reason, Xiong Tingbi also specially warned Wang Huazhen, do not fight lightly to show flaws, and wait for all parties to be ready, "restore Liao in one fell swoop". However, just as Xiong Tingbi was discussing the salary of the troops with the department, Mao Wenlong was ordered by Wang Huazhen to attack Zhenjiang first under the condition that "the Korean liaison has not been completed, the Jianghuai recruitment has not been rotated, the sailors have not crossed the ocean, thousands of miles are lonely, and the whip is difficult to reach"[27]. At that time, He Jianke, the imperial history of Henan Province, accused this battle of "acting like a child". Regardless of whether Mao Wenlong is subjectively aware of this, there is no doubt that it has actually undermined Xiong Tingbi's "tripartite arrangement". Afterwards, Wang Huazhen threatened: "There is no need to prepare for the Lai Shui Division, there is Phi Island Mao Wenlong,"[28] and its pertinence is also very clear. No wonder Xiong Tingbi said indignantly: "At the beginning of the tripartite arrangement, there must be soldiers, horses, equipment, boats, vehicles, and cocoons, and then they will be held together, and they will fight and defend when they retreat." Now in the chaos, the cardinal is in the middle, and the ministers make decisions outside", "The ministers have a name but no facts, and Liaozuo listens to the cardinals and ministers to do it. [29] Although the spearhead of Xiong's struggle was directed at Zhang Heming and Wang Huazhen, Mao Wenlong could not escape the blame for this incident, and it also had an impact on the subsequent collapse of Wang Huazhen's Guangning division. It can be seen from this that Mao Wenlong's battle of the Dongjiang River was a disadvantage rather than a benefit to the entire anti-Qing war at that time, and it was a mistake rather than a merit.

Secondly, it seems that there should also be a question mark on the issue of Mao Wenlong's containment of Houjin in the Dongjiang River. "History of the Ming Dynasty" once clearly pointed out: "Although the situation in the Dongjiang River, where Gu Wenlong lives, is enough to contain it, his people have no strategy, and they are defeated." [30] This kind of analysis, which only affirms the Dongjiang River and its land, and denies Wenlong and his people, is, in my opinion, quite dialectical and objective. As a matter of fact, quite a number of officials in the DPRK and China have long expressed doubts about Mao Wenlong's role in restraining the system and have constantly raised questions. In the sixth year of the Apocalypse, Xue Guoguan pointed out: "In the first month of this year, the enemy poured into the nest, although he slightly frustrated the fierce front, and the siege and slaughter of those who were free from the mainland lasted for more than 20 days. [31] In the first year of Chongzhen, Yan Mingtai, the secretary of the military department, also believed that Wenlong's containment was "ultimately a void", so he put forward a motion to move the town. [32] In the engineering department, Pan Shiwen even pointed out the impeachment of Mao Wenlong, saying: "Therefore, wisdom will be successful, and the brave general will be invincible, and he has not soared on the sea for eight years, and he can speak of wisdom without recovering a city and a pool; [33] Yang Guodong, the commander-in-chief of Shandong, once listed Wenlong's ten major crimes, the second of which was: "Set Wenlong overseas, originally to contain Mao Wenlong, did not dare to go west, crossed the river several times, repeatedly committed Ning Jin, was completely unaware, and contained An!" [34] If it is said that there is a suspicion of party strife against the above-mentioned impeachment of Ming officials, then the views of North Korea, which is very familiar with Mao Wenlong's internal affairs, can be used as evidence. As early as not long after Wenlong entered the Dongjiang River, the North Korean Beibian Division immediately said: "General Mao did not think much about it. The thief rushed to Xuanchuan, but hundreds of horses, had not sent an arrow, the head was killed, there was a group of sheep to see the tiger, its courage is not brave, according to this can be imagined. For the sake of today, if you hide the traces, so that the captives cannot be snooped on, they will stay. [35] At that time, Mao Wenlong's hiding place was not stable, and there was no way to contain it. In June of the third year of the Apocalypse, Liu Gongliang returned from Mao's camp and reported to the Korean king Li Liang: "Judging from the strength of his troops, it seems that there is no tendency to suppress Hu. When Zhang went in the evening, he formed a formation to see it, and the army was weak. Although it may be moved by seeing small profits, it may be difficult to raise big things. [36] Until the second year of Chongzhen, when Wenlong was executed, Li Jingji, a special official, still said: "Mao's army is very tired, and its intention is only to settle down on the island and enjoy its wealth." [37] Therefore, the general evaluation of Mao Wenlong's eight years of opening the town in the "Records of the Li Dynasty" is: "Living on an isolated island, working in vain,"[38] "Now he enjoys wealth in vain, and has no intention of making progress." Those who know are worried that it will not be conducive to the Central Plains in the end, and it will be a deep trouble for our country. [39] On the relocation of the compilation of the "National Legend", he was criticized for "beheading the commander"; however, he did not dare to compliment Wenlong's so-called containment, saying: "The far-reaching fruit of the Dongjiang River is enough to deter the Jianyu? He also specially quoted Jiang Yueguang as saying: "His words are restrained, and the whip is not as long as the horse's belly." ...... The division of the Dongjiang River is not in the deserted garden, Hu Ma has been in it for a long time, and it is the same as the iron mountain. [40] Even Wang Yongguang, who later participated in the persecution of Yuan Chonghuan on the charge of "killing the marshal", had to admit: "In order to contain the overseas divisions, there is the retreat of Sumeru Island, and there is also the report of the attack on Haizhou. [41] It can be seen from this that Mao Wenlong's "containment" is nothing more than a fictitious trick in name only.

3. On whether Mao Wenlong should be killed

Is Yuan Chonghuan's punishment of Mao Wenlong a merit, a crime, or a fault? The most crucial question is, of course, whether Mao Wenlong should be killed. A large number of facts have proved that since Wenlong took possession of the Dongjiang River, he dominated one side and was arrogant and domineering, and then he even carried out the activities of collaborating with the enemy and betraying the enemy behind his back. The 12 cardinal sins announced by Yuan Chonghuan when he beheaded Mao Wenlong were not fabricated out of thin air or arbitrarily put on the agenda, but could stand the test of history. Below, I am going to choose the main ones and make a little discernment.

One of the crimes: "On the **** side, the money and food of military horses are not subject to nuclear." Mao Wenlong claimed to have more than 20 million troops. [42] The DPRK was extremely suspicious of this, and in the sixth year of the Apocalypse, Jiang Yueguang and Wang Mengyin sent an envoy to North Korea to prepare to visit Mao's camp, but Mao Wenlong said in a contradictory manner: "It is up to me whether I can read it or not." Not only is it up to me to read it, but it is not up to him whether he goes or not. [43] After Jiang and Wang returned to the dynasty, they said: "Wenlong's military register is 150,000, and only 20,000 or 30,000 can be used;"[44] The royal court test of Denglai Dao was set at 28,000,[45] and the opinions of the two were roughly the same, but Mao Wenlong was very dissatisfied with this. For this point, "Guoyi" also admitted: Wenlong "became arrogant, exaggerated in everything, and demanded too much salary, 1.2 million years old, 200,000 soldiers, suspicious and disgusted with the court, holding heavy troops, and living on the island, it was impossible to make it difficult." [46] The North Korean side also accused: "Mao Dudu's attempt to make our country praise his merits is unreasonable and unreasonable to bluff the number of soldiers." [47] It can be seen from this that Mao Wenlong's uncontrolled behavior should be a fact. Some scholars quoted the "Inscription of Jiliao Inspector in June of the Second Year of Chongzhen" once mentioned that Mao Wenlong "resolutely wishes to be restrained by the camp", and believes that Wenlong "Since there has been a change, why bother to find faults and have to kill." [48] However, in the "Inscription", this sentence is only a description of the development process of events, and immediately after this sentence, there is "(Yuan) said: If the camp is fixed, then the end of the year must be screened, and the ancestors have their own laws, and they cannot be faked." Wen Long then regretted his mistake and said to the deputy general Zhang Zhu: My aunt used this to supervise the teacher, but in fact, it is difficult to operate, so I just need to finish the east affairs. The minister then learned that his wolf ambition could not be controlled", which is clearly exposing Mao Wenlong's tricks in front of the superintendent, how can it be said that Mao Wenlong has "changed"? !

The second crime: "Talking about deceiving the king," killing and presuming merit. This is a trick that Mao Wenlong used to take advantage of his remote islands, but in fact, it is also the problem with the most loopholes and the earliest exposure. At the beginning of Wenlong's entry into Zhenjiang, he was counterattacked by Houjin, "beheading the guerrilla Liu and 1,500 soldiers, and Wenlong was only spared." [49] However, Wenlong concealed the defeat and did not report it, and was denounced by the traitorous king Yining of Denglaitong, because Wenlong "flattered Wei Zhongxian as Austrian aid", Yining was falsely accused and arrested and killed. [50] In the fourth year of the Apocalypse, "Shi Xiushui Tan Changyan participated in politics for Denglai." Mao Wenlong's medicine Liao people's tongue is a prisoner, Chang Yan is cheap, secret and antidote soup, and the tongue is clear and begging, all Liao people are also, in fact, compiled as farmers. [51] In July of the same year, Wenlong reported three victories, "Twelve people were sacrificed, and the children and girls were eight, (Yuan) Huazhong asked for his release, because of the abuse of words and dragons, loyal and virtuous Su Pi Wenlong, and he was displeased." [52] Later, Yuan Huazhong was tortured to death in prison, which was one of the factors. In August of the fifth year of the Apocalypse, Yang Wenyue of the household department once refuted Mao Wenlong's sacrifice of seven prisoners and exchanged for six on the way to Guanglu Island: "The minister was shocked when he heard it. The matter of the husband's sacrifice of prisoners, the emperor of the play, the ancestors, used to spread the virtue far away, show the favor of the spirit, what such a big thing, is suddenly solved, suddenly solved, the former solution, I don't know how to make a mistake, the latter changer, I don't know where to solve? I am different, I don't know whether it is true or false. If you repay your merits, you will be confused, and if you use it to repay the emperor, you will be bullied. He begged the ministry to check the authenticity of the matter, and still told Mao Wenlong that the military situation should be reported to the truth in the future. [53] The Ministry of War also pointed out in the reply to Long Shu: "There are still those who dare not speak out." Regarding Mao Wenlong's reckless sacrifice of prisoners, not only "China and North Korea are quite aware of his delusion",[54] the record of the North Korean side is also clear: "(Li) Tinggui said: (Mao) Du Du Du does not repair weapons, does not refine soldiers, has little intention of begging for capture, does not fight, but is called ****** Jie; [55] Sin No. 3: "Rigid and sloppy, no one is courteous." This obviously does not refer to the offensive language in the Houjin letter forwarded by Mao Wenlong, but to the true meaning of Wenlong himself. For this point, the "Supervisor's Inscription" is clear, that is: "There are near and there are herding horses in Dengzhou, taking Nanjing as a backhand, etc., according to the declaration of Denglai Road, it is unacceptable." In connection with the fact that Mao Wenlong suddenly sent troops to Dengzhou in the spring of the first year of Chongzhen's reign and claimed to ask for wages, and that his private correspondence to Huang Taiji contained the words "You take Shanhaiguan, I will take Shandong",[56] it can be seen that the incident was not an accidental coincidence.

Sin 10: "Befriending close servants." This does not refer to the general entertainment during the period of Wei Zhongxian's dictatorship, but refers to the dispatch of henchmen, "Jin Jingshi, worship Wei Zhongxian as his father," in essence, forming a gang, that is, the so-called "Wenlong and Wei Zhongxian are also related to each other." [57] This can be clearly seen from Wei Gelding's different attitude towards Mao Wenlong and Yuan Chonghuan, because Chonghuan was "neglected by others and befriended by Da Jue,"[58] and Wei Zhongxian had "made his party's argument that Chonghuan did not save Jinzhou as a twilight,"[59] forcing Chonghuan to beg for a resignation, only to be reused after Zhongxian was ambushed. However, Mao Wenlong's situation was completely different, he "made a fortune and thought it was a plan for self-consolidation,"[60] so "Dongjiang's annual salary was one million, and most of them did not leave the capital, and they all went into the pockets of the eunuchs". [61] In fact, after Wang Huazhen was executed, Wei Zhongxian became Mao Wenlong's backstage, not only did he get through unimpeded, but whoever participated in the impeachment of Mao Wenlong would suffer, such as Wang Yining, Liu Zhifeng, Xia Zhiling, Yuan Huazhong, Jiang Yueguang, Wang Mengyin, etc., or were condemned to death or expelled, which was the result of Wei Zhongxian's protection of Mao Wenlong. Even after Wei was castrated, there was still a situation where "the internal official Wang Guoxing went to the sea without permission, claiming to summon Mao Wenlong in secret orders, and his traces were secretive"[62]. It can be seen that the relationship between Mao Wenlong and the eunuch is really unusual.

Sin 11: The enemy attacked Iron Mountain, "fled to Phi Island, and covered up the defeat for success." Of course, this does not refer to the tactical avoidance of the real and the attack on the false, but refers to the fact that Mao Wenlong often fled from the battlefield and did not dare to engage in battle, that is, "Li Lu" said "there are tigers with the same group of sheep". As for covering up the defeat for merit, that is also a fact, there is no need to say anything else, just after the fiasco of Tieshan, Mao Wenlong immediately reported to Xuanzhou, Yizhou and other places "five victories", but the examination of the "Donghua Quanlu", Houjin after breaking the iron mountain, there was no war with Mao Wenlong, the so-called five battles and five victories, are all false. At that time, Yuan Chonghuan had already pointed out: "The Iron Mountain will be broken as soon as it is attacked, and Mao cannot add a single arrow, and repay the merit day and night." [63] It can be seen that Chonghuan is well aware of Wenlong's behavior.

Sin 12: "Eight years after the town was opened, an inch of land in eastern Liaodong cannot be restored." For example, in the first year of Chongzhen, Yang Guodong, the general soldier of Shandong, pointed out: Mao Wenlong "spent eight years overseas, spending money and food without calculation, saying that today he will recover, tomorrow he will say that he will destroy the nest, and I will ask where the person who is restored is the nest? However, some scholars ignore Mao Wenlong's own problems, believing that "the first thing to ask is to ask the supervisor". [65] We say that as the supervisor who coordinates the war situation in the whole Liao, he is of course responsible for this. Yuan Chonghuan's actions to Mao Wenlong, after verification and after the enlightenment was ineffective, resolutely beheaded him, isn't this a responsible performance? !

Among Mao Wenlong's twelve crimes, I think the most critical one is the fifth crime: "fornication." This is not only a matter of "opening a horse market without permission", that is, "Wenlong solicited merchants on the island, sold contraband, made a name for Korea, and went out of the country"[66] "fornicating with millet silk, making it easy to fight and marten, and using it as a bud to make a cave for refuge"[67], but more serious was the problem of collaborating with the enemy and defecting. Although Yuan Chonghuan did not see the correspondence between Mao Wenlong and Huang Taiji at that time, he knew some of the circumstances, the most likely of which was to obtain the whistle-blowing of Liu Xingzuo, who had returned to the Ming Dynasty, but because of Liu Xingzuo's identity, Yuan Chonghuan was inconvenient to say about this matter at that time. The "Chongzhen Chronicle" contains: Chonghuan's recital newspaper contains the saying that "Wenlong's reverse deeds are obvious"; "Jiang Lu" contains: "Ming Yuan Chonghuan used Mao Wenlong, the general soldier, to have an affair with our country according to Phi Dao in the South China Sea and killed him." Emperor Chongzhen also clearly pointed out in his edict that Mao Wenlong "has traces of Tongyi." These all prove that Mao Wenlong's collaboration with the enemy is an important reason for the commander to behead the commander. As for the question of Mao Wenlong's collaboration with the enemy and his defection, since some scholars have already made a special article to argue,[68] I completely agree, and I am not going to say more here. However, only based on Mao Wenlong's proposal in his letter to Huang Taiji: "You take the mountains and seas, and I take Shandong, if you attack from both sides, then the great thing will be accomplished, and I will not divide the territory and will not be under the jurisdiction of Er;"[69]"In the end period, how you treat me, such as Tong and Li Zhilong, I will not will, such as the leader of Xiyi, I will not will;"[70] and his plan to trade with the Liu Xingzuo brothers, who have returned to the Ming Dynasty, and Houjin, etc., are enough to prove that Mao Wenlong is indeed guilty of punishment.

Cheng Benzhi has a summary comment on the issue of beheading the commander in "The Vortex Chronicle": "Ke Yiwen has been discussing Wenlong in the country for many years? It is said that the soldiers are false, it is said that they are taking risks, they are said to be fake prisoners, they are deceived by cheating, they are also called tail leaders, they are said to be whip chiefs, and they are said to be generals. Since Wudeng Fu fought and left, those who wanted to get it and were willing to Wenlong were not a day, not a person. Insulting Bai Jane and hanging bullet stamps can be hundreds. It is said that all the doctors on the left and right can be killed, and the people of the country are said to be killed. If they don't kill, they can't kill, they can't kill, and they don't dare to kill. That's why Chonghuan killed him and the country was fast. ...... It was Wenlong's killing, Wenlong's sin, not Chonghuan's sin. Cheng's comment was put forward at a time when Yuan Chonghuan had suffered all kinds of injustices and the theory of "killing the marshal without permission" was very loud, and at that time, without a spirit of sacrifice to fight for justice, he would not dare to say such a thing. It not only represents the real public opinion of the time, but also has withstood the test of history.

Fourth, on party struggle

Since Mao Wenlong's crime was to be punished, and Emperor Chongzhen also issued a clear decree to confirm it at home and abroad, why did it not take long for the incident to cause an uproar in the court and the central government, and Yuan Chonghuan even caused the disaster of killing himself because of this? It seems that this is indeed related to the complicated party struggle in the late Ming Dynasty, but it was by no means that the party struggle caused Yuan Chonghuan to mistakenly kill Mao Wenlong, on the contrary, it was Yuan Chonghuan who was unjustly killed because of the involvement of the party dispute.

There is such a saying: Some party members at that time pinned their hopes for the persecution of Mao Wenlong on Yuan Chonghuan, and the plan for punishing the commander had already been privately agreed with Qian Longxi and others, and Chonghuan was just acting according to the established plan. [71] I think this argument is difficult to establish: first, although the struggle between the Donglin Party and the Eunuch Party was very fierce at that time, Han Yi, Qian Longxi and others, who were ordered to preside over the rebellion, did not want to take the opportunity to expand the scope of their attack. Emperor Shaozhi, let it be discussed again. And with dozens of people, the emperor was not afraid, and ordered the praise and guidance to support Dai Songmei's flattery, and said: The inner attendant should also be the evildoer. I don't know what to do with the waiter. The emperor said: Don't you know, you are afraid of resentment. Reading the day and summoned into the palace, the case has a cloth bag, and the chapter is very sparse, pointing to it: This is all a traitorous party, but the name of the case is in. He knew that the emperor's intention could not be returned, but he said: The ministers and other positions are adjusting the decree, and the three-foot law is not practiced. The emperor summoned the secretary of the ministry Wang Yongguang to ask, and Yongguang said that he was not accustomed to punishment. It is a colleague of Qiao Yunsheng, the secretary of the Imperial Criminal Department, and Cao Yubian, the imperial historian of Zuodu, so the names of the case are listed, and there is no one left behind. In March of the second year of Chongzhen, the emperor issued an edict to the world. [72] It can be seen that the crackdown on the eunuch party at that time came from the initiative of Emperor Chongzhen, and Han Yi, Qian Longxi and other party members seemed a bit conservative and passive on this issue, if they really wanted to "persecute" Mao Wenlong, it would be said that it would be easy, and there was no need to fake his hand to Yuan Inspector, who was not a member of the party, even if it was because Mao Wenlong had heavy troops and lived far away on the island and wanted to use Yuan Chonghuan's power to get rid of it, Mao Wenlong should be included in the reverse case first, so that the division could become famous, but in fact Mao Wenlong was not among the reverse cases. Second, Yuan Chonghuan did talk to Qian Longxi about Mao Wenlong's issue before leaving the customs to take office, but it was Yuan Chonghuan who took the initiative to raise it from the perspective of Fuliao. "Qian Longxi, a university scholar, has the language of 'five years of recovering Liao' when he is called by Chonghuan, because he has created a strategy for inquiry. Chonghuan said: "When the restoration starts from the Dongjiang River, Wenlong can be used, and if it is not available, it will be easy to hear." [73] Judging from the content of Qian and Yuan's conversations, it was not persecution, nor did it have anything to do with party struggle. Third, although Mao Wenlong once attached himself to Wei Zhongxian, from the perspective of internal party struggle, he is not a great figure. At that time, the important eunuch elements in the DPRK and China, such as Zhou Yanru and Wen Tiren, were not yet under attack, and there was no need for the Donglin party to regard Mao Wenlong, who was on the distant island, as a great enemy, so that they would put the fake superintendent to death and hurry up. Fourth, although Yuan Chonghuan has long had some opinions about Mao Wenlong and his person, he did not make up his mind to kill when he made a comeback. This point, in addition to the above-mentioned phrase "if it can be used", it is mentioned many times in the "Commander's Inscription". For example: "Every chapter must be played, and it is hoped that it will be changed." "For the Wenlong, bound to the imperial court, once listening to the moderation of the ministers, it can be the present is yesterday, then there is life and no death. When Wenlong arrived in Ningyuan, "the intention of the emperor to be born was not ready to kill at this time"; then he "decided to go eastward and go deep into the land, still hoping to see and hear what he did not know, and Kaiwenlong had a way to live"; even after arriving at Shuangdao and learning that "Wenlong's evil is as high as a mountain, and it is rumored that it is not as tithing", he still "ordered his cronies to enlighten back and forth", but only after all this rescue work failed, he had to resolutely cut it down. So, did Yuan Chonghuan fabricate lies in order to exculpate himself? It seems that it is not, even the "Northern Strategy of the Ming Season", which is extremely slanderous of Yuan Chonghuan, also quotes Yuan's words: "After talking with you for three days, who knows the ambition of the wolf, and he is full of deception." [74] Moreover, it is generally reasonable to say that if Mao Wenlong is deliberately killed, it is safest to start at Ningyuan, the governor's station, and will not stupidly run to the twin islands within Mao Wenlong's sphere of influence to make a move. However, the fact is that Mao Wenlong died in Shuangdao, not in Ningyuan, which shows that Yuan Chonghuan's punishment of Mao Wenlong was not premeditated, but the situation was urgent and had to be dealt with decisively.

For the commander to behead the commander, Emperor Chongzhen had a clear decree afterwards. "This decision is changing, and there is no Chinese system,...... Still working with peace of mind. [75] It can be seen that the matter has already been settled, and the reasons for the sudden change afterwards are of course complicated, including the huge shadow caused by the rebellion of Emperor Taiji, and the suspicion and suspicion of Emperor Chongzhen, but these are only favorable opportunities and conditions that the remnants of the eunuch party can take advantage of, and the essence of the problem is that the eunuch party took the opportunity to overturn the case. Because "the decision of the reverse case is half presided over by Long Xi, and the traitor party title is cut to the bone,"[76] and Yuan Chonghuan should have the phrase "Auxiliary minister Qian Longxi is low for this matter, and the minister is a private businessman". In this way, the eunuchs stubbornly grasped this article and strung together the so-called crimes of collaborating with the enemy, beheading the commander, and coercing money, so as to start with Yuan Chonghuan and achieve the goal of overthrowing Qian Longxi and overturning the reverse case. As contained in "Guoyi": "At the beginning, in the case of rebellion, the traitors regretted Long Xi, and wanted to use Yuan Chonghuan to also raise a reverse case to retaliate, because Long Xi Yiluo and the ministers. Zhou Yanru, Wen Tiren is the Lord. [77] History of the Ming Dynasty. The Biography of Han Yi also contains: "Although the time is against the party, (Wang) Yongguang and Yuan Hongxun, (Gao) Jie, and (Shi) () generations will overturn the case every day. ...... At the beginning, Yuan Chonghuan entered the dynasty and tasted side affairs with Qian Longxi, Long Xi, and the leader of the Donglin Party. Yongguang and others conspired because of Chonghuan's Xing Prison, but they could dump Donglin and propose the entry of the Qing army, which was caused by Chonghuan's killing of Mao Wenlong. Jie then attacked Longxi for the first time and chased it. "And "to Chonghuan Seat Lord," "It is advisable to rebuke with Long Xi," and force "Yi San Shu to lead to illness" to retire. Looking at the remnants of the eunuch party at that time, the situation is even clearer, "Yu Shi Gaojie impeached the university scholar Qian Longxi and said: Yuan Chonghuan's crime is clear, the minister does not need to speak, Qian Longxi, who issued the instructions alone, is very sad. ...... Chonghuan's killing of Mao Wenlong is also different, and Long Xi's secret handwriting is different, and Chonghuan has Long Xi's low reply to the words of private businessmen, which can be repeated. ...... Chonghuan imitated the power of the knife, and Long Xi sent a strategy to push the blade, so Long Xi frowned and had to be rescued in the same boat today. [78] But their first evacuation failed to work, "Jie attacked again, the emperor was quite moved, Long Xi argued again, caused illness, and was released." "To (Chongzhen) in August of the third year, on the resumption of the sparse, Yan Longxi advocated that Chonghuan behead the commander and send the army, advocate for the proposal, and believe in the five-year success of the theory, betraying the country and bullying the king, and his crime is not Dao. [79] As a result, Qian Longxi was arrested and imprisoned, and even died for a time. It can be seen that the theory of "killing the marshal" concocted by the remnants of the eunuch party is not only aimed at Yuan Chonghuan, but also at Qian Longxi and others. "Shi Qun Xiaoli is a conspirator against the case, pointing out that Chonghuan is the rebel, Long Xi and others are against the party, and they even set up a counter-case to counteract, and they want to send it from the military department, and Liang Tingdong is afraid of the emperor's wisdom (in fact, Liang Tingdong listened to Yu Dacheng's warning, and he was afraid that things would be repeated), and he didn't dare to let it go. [80] It should also be pointed out here that Gao Jie and Shi Zhizhi were nothing more than pawns in the foreground, and the real mastermind of the whole incident was Wen Tiren. Liu Zongzhou said later: After the Yuan case, "the villains competed to repair the grievances of the portal, and those who raised the dissidents of the courtiers were all sitting on the party, and the second place was placed in the heavy ceremony." Since then, the villain advances, and the gentleman retreats. ...... The minister can't be the head of the body. [81] Wen Tiren also revealed the secret in the three letters to his younger brother Youzhen's family, "Chonghuan's capture, my secret is sparse and enlightened": "(Houjin) was convicted, and Yuan Chonghuan deceived the emperor with five years of extermination (capture), and Yin and Huating treacherous auxiliary (referring to Qian Longxi) and Linyi conspired to discuss money, so they led to the long-term drive to threaten the alliance under the city. And the enemy forced the Lu River, Huating is still a big word, as the rebel governor is like the Great Wall, the traitorous party and the enemy, I have to be dense and special to break the group bullying. And the rebel governor was captured, and the traitor was courageous, and the ancestor Dashou led the troops eastward, thinking that it was a place of rebellion, and I had to listen to it again. [82] Subsequently, the Chonghuan generals Zu Dashou and He Kegang fought hard, repelled Houjin, recovered the four cities, and the emperor said that "all the places recovered are the power of Liao soldiers, and they want to use Huan in Liao, and there is a saying that it is necessary to defend Liao,"[83] so that Yuan's case once took a turn for the better, but "the body was sparse before and after, and I tried to kill Huan,"[84] so that the turnaround came to naught, and Yuan Chonghuan was finally killed in the city with injustice. It can be seen that at every critical moment in the development of the Yuan case, Wen Tiren's secrecy plays a leading role.

Fifth, about the battle situation after the beheading

In the past, there were two reasons for some commentators to deny the beheading of the commander: First, the Houjin was relieved of their worries and was able to enter Beijing; second, the Phi Dao was left ownerless and attacked and killed each other internally, resulting in Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, Shang Kexi, and others surrendering to the Houjin one after another, thus changing the entire war situation in Northeast China. I think these views are also worth discussing.

Regarding the so-called "relieving worries", Cheng Benzhi commented in "The Vortex Chronicle": "The guest said: The aunt is. Those who want to go to the thistle gate of the enemy do not dare for a day, and Mao Wenlong also restrains them. Wenlong killed and contained the waste, and the enemy succeeded in thistle. Why is it not Chonghuan's sin? It is said that the encounter of time is also the combination of numbers, and it is said that Mao Wenlong's reason is also not. The enemy Gu once attacked Ningyuan and was far away from Bingyin; the enemy Gu once besieged Jinzhou and Ding Maoye, and defended to the death by means of non-Chonghuan, and the enemy did not capture his own and began to crisscross under Shenjing. And Wen Long was actually handsome on the island that day, and he didn't hear that he mentioned a brigade and a horse to contain it so that he would not come, and Wu would be able to contain it today and not come?!" Cheng's series of questions were-for-tat and to the point. So, why did Huang Taiji enter Beijing shortly after Mao Wenlong was killed? Considering the reasons for this, I believe that this was mainly caused by the breakdown of the peace talks at that time. Hanchen Gao Hongzhong once suggested to Huang Taiji in advance: "If he talks about peace at this time, check its authenticity, and if he really talks about peace, I will allow it with sincerity." ...... (If) it is a request for land, this and needless to say. He had no intention of making peace, and I had no other plan, so I went straight to the capital, and according to the situation, I either attacked or besieged it, and then made a strategy. [85] At this time, Yuan Chonghuan insisted on the condition of "returning to the rebels and encroaching on the land" in the proposal, while Huang Taiji believed that "the land of Liaodong is granted by heaven and cannot be returned." [86] He also instructed the minister of Baylor: "I have repeatedly tried to make peace but the other does not obey, how can I sit and wait", "Therefore, I have raised troops to enter by shortcuts, and I will never return." [87] This proves that the division was carried out according to Gao Hongzhong's suggestion, and Gao's recital, which was mainly aimed at the progress of the peace talks, did not take into account Mao Wenlong's so-called containment at all. As for Huang Taiji's "worries", there are some of them, but what Houjin is afraid of is not Mao Wenlong, but Yuan Chonghuan. When the Later Jin Shi Ciqingcheng, "the Great Belle Daishan, the Three Belle Mang'er Gutai Late Imperial Woo,...... It is said that this trip will go deep into the enemy's territory, if the food is scarce and the horses are tired, how can it be calculated?! If the Ming people will come to surround it with troops from all walks of life, what can they do about it? If it is intercepted from behind, there is no way back, how can they return to the country?!"[88] and once secretly discussed the class teacher. This all shows that Houjin has worries, and what they are worried about, who else can they be besides Inspector Yuan? !

As for the subsequent improvement of the situation in the Northeast, it cannot be attributed to Yuan Chonghuan's beheading. In fact, Yuan Chonghuan announced in public when he beheaded the commander: "The ministers are now punishing Wenlong to suppress the army, and those who are like Wenlong among the generals will be punished." The ministers could not succeed, and the emperor also punished the ministers with the dragon. [89] This shows that he has made great determination to rectify the Dongjiang River, and has made a series of arrangements in earnest: "Divide 28,000 of his troops into four associations, with Wenlongzi Chengzuo (Lu), deputy general Chen Jisheng, staff general Xu Fuzuo, and guerrilla Liu Xingzuo as the main ones." Received Wenlong's seal Shangfang sword, ordered Jisheng to take charge, reward the sergeants, pacify the islands, and eliminate Wenlong's abuse of government. [90] Soon after, he said: "A town in Dongjiang, the necessary resources for containment, now set two associations, ten battalions of the horse army, and five infantry troops." [91] In the end, the defense of Dongjiang, Ningjin, Denglai, and Tianjin was united, and the total strength reached 153,000. [91] It was only a few months later, when Chonghuan was arrested and imprisoned and hanged to death, that all efforts to clean up the Dongjiang River came to naught. Therefore, the real reason for the ownerlessness of Phi Dao is not Yuan Chonghuan's beheading, but Yuan Chonghuan's unjust killing, which is very clear. The subsequent attacks and killings within the Dongjiang River and the successive defections of the generals naturally had their specific reasons, and they were related to the rapidly changing situation at that time, and I do not want to go into too much discussion here, but it must be pointed out that if these attacks and surrenders occurred during the tenure of Yuan Chonghuan, he would of course be responsible; but all this happened after Yuan Chonghuan was killed, and all the conditions and circumstances changed, and if Yuan Chonghuan is still to blame, can this be said to be fair? Chonghuan beheaded Wenlong, compiled his soldiers, verified his salary, Dongjiang was doing something, but he was killed, and the Mao soldiers had nothing to rely on, slaughtering each other, and the rate was reduced. The commentators also regard this as the crime of Chonghuan, and do not think that the crime of killing Chonghuan is still controversial. [92] I think this is a very good point of consideration, and it seems that the time has come for us to face up to the "sin of killing the regents."